"Why am I here again?" In one of the tier 2 VIP boxes, just below the best at tier 1, a young woman with bright violet hair was lounging in a bored fashion. Normally she would be wearing high class robes with various decorations, but instead was wearing slim pants and a jacket of dark brown and a white blouse. Her companion was in more standard dark robes with dark hair, but bright violet eyes that looked frustrated.
"For the last time, we are here for several reasons, the chief among them being the evaluation of the Overseer. He has done well for the Empire, but rumors have reached the court of inappropriate behavior. Also, the entrance exams for the Lotus Academy are coming up. We should keep an eye out for talent." The cloaked woman saw her charge was not really paying attention. A vein began to tick on the cloaked woman's face before she continued. "There is also the odd addition of the 2 Sects of our continent participating in this relatively minor tournament."
The first spark of interest came into the pale green eyes of her charge.
"I have heard of Solon. He is no Darmak, but maybe in the future. Shoti, on the other hand, I have heard a lot of good stories about!" The vein that had faded came back with a vengeance. Of course this impulsive person was excited about the salacious rumors of Shoti. For a woman only in the mid tier Soul Realm it would normally not draw much attention, but being a Heavenly Maiden drew attention already.
"Highness, please pay attention to the tournament for now. We will pick out good talents for our academy." The cloaked woman simply hoped her charge would take the assignment seriously. Sadly, her hopes were dashed.
"Wake me when the elimination round is over." The young woman curled up and seemed to take a nap in the plush chair in their booth. The cloaked women put a hand to her brow and seemed to count to ten before looking at the group battle that was about to unfold.
****
Lind stood in the arena with many other people. If he was to guess, it would be over 100. The main gate had led to a sandy area encircling a stone platform that was larger than most football fields. The elimination round was about to begin and he chose to defend rather than seek out targets. This turned out to be very wise.
Many techniques flew wildly across the platform and chaos ensued. Those that attacked were, on average, at tier 4 of the Soul Realm, but the various powers collided and caused shockwaves that affected even the casters themselves.
Lind channeled elemental Qi to divert any effects to himself and saw several bodies fly outside the ring. Lind did not stay still either as he moved to avoid a few that turned to him as one of the weakest people in the ring.
The opening chaos was easy to survive with such defensive moves. Lind kept his senses open for any direct attacks but it was a free for all that made many of the audience laugh as a few were expelled by their own techniques.
Lind let his senses extend across the arena and saw how quickly the numbers began to drop. This continued until about 50 people were left and the attacks suddenly stopped. Lind felt the tension as all the opponents evaluated the remaining members.
Lind noticed that a few were sweating profusely, but most were above him in tiers. Even so, the battle hardly paused before several members targeted him. The earth shook as wind blades flew in the air and water whips came at Lind at the same time. Without a pause, Lind evaded all of the attacks by pushing his legs with Wind element and twisting his torso at the same time. Compared to the crushing attacks of Garnt, these people were naive children.
While he evaded 3 attacks, he sent out a flare of fire to those near him with wind enhancing the power of fire quickly. The men and women near him were competent enough to protect themselves but that gave an opening for physical attacks. A swift kick sent a young man outside the ring by Lind's power and then he launched himself like a missile at a woman conjuring lightning before she was ready.
Lind noted that others were sent out as he conquered 2 people. It was a much more skilled storm of chaos, but Lind still had to contort his body against random interactions from attacks. Fire and water created steam while wind and earth sent out shockwaves. A few light and dark users combined to make lightning or whirlpools. Lind successfully repelled a few attacks but then it dropped to the last 30 and things paused again.
Only 10 people remained and Lind quickly noticed he was the lowest tier of all the cultivators in this round. The next closest person was 4th tier then most of the rest were 5 the tier and a handful at the 6 tier. This could be troublesome.
Lind was made a target once again but he had long since honed his body as a weapon. Anyone that attacked him was frustrated by his avoidance and clear skill in reading an attack. It made others easy targets to be eliminated until only 22 were left.
The tense atmosphere now was thick as only 2 slots were left to eliminate. Lind saw all 21 adversaries view him but with caution. He had proven to be troublesome despite his low realm.
"You have done well to last this long little man. It is time to bow out." One of the men with vivid red hair spoke and a few nodded but most frowned at his words. Lind paid no attention and kept his sense keyed to any attack. The judge was about to intervene when a woman unleashed a massive wave of wind at the arrogant man.
Fire flared like a massive pyre to disperse the attack. While none were as good as the twins, Lind acknowledged that many were very skilled compared to the nearly 90 that were eliminated until now. The cheers of the crowd spurred many to be reckless but none were eliminated. Even blood was not spilled but wary looks were shared among all.
Lind felt a shift in the tiles under his feet and flipped forwards as a spike shot up where he had been standing. A water whip flew through the air to his new location but he followed through with a hop up and evaded that attack as well. As he was in the air, a shining sword flashed in his vision and Lind was forced to drop himself quickly with a blast of air into the ring. He recognized the initial state of sword intent.
It was amazing that someone had brought their mastery of a weapon to that point, but it was clearly unstable as well. Otherwise, Lind stood no chance of evading a vicious attack like that. There was respect from many of the remaining contestants at that point for his efforts.
"It would seem we need to step up our game to match this younglings' efforts!" Lind finally smiled at the praise from a man covered in scars on his topless body. The slight signs of gray showed he was likely stuck in his current tier, but it also meant he was well trained in his current level.
Lind was not thrilled that they acknowledged his skill as some temporary teams formed with a few glances to try and take him out. No one was on his side. The pressure pushed Lind but he knew basic Soul Arts were not secure his place without a bit of luck. It was time to rely on his talent.
A blazing fire ball flew at him and Lind grazed it with his Soul Touch to alter its course without notifying his opponents. It looked like he evaded the attack as more came flying at him. Earth and water combined to create a wave of mud that would trap Lind if he did not lift into the air. Lightning was formed but Lind had it glance off of his skin. It stung, but was better than being struck. New respect showed in all eyes at that point.
A young man was sent sailing off the perimeter of the ring by a whip of darkness leaving 21 contestants. Lind felt the pressure but would not give in! It became a one man show of his lessons over the last 4 years as one attack after another tried to push him off or incapacitate him.
****
The 3rd Princess of the Lotus Empire was leaning on the edge of her seat. A 3rd tier Soul Realm should have been eliminated long ago, but this boy was very skilled. The boring assignment was now worth it even in this elimination round. She was too far away to detect his elements but she had seen enough to know he had at least 4 elements.
"What do you think of that boy?" Her attendant had better detection skills and seemed confused at what she saw. Waiting for a reply took longer than expected as a jade slip was consulted.
"If I am reading this correctly highness, he is named Lind and has 6 elements. Normally, I would not be interested but he clearly has worked hard to temper his elements above his tier and mastered the basic techniques to a high degree." The crowd wooed as the boy narrowly evaded a combination of wind and lightning at the same time. How he escaped unscathed was unknown.
"He is good! Find out all you can about him! He does not seem like a local with that hair color." The princess felt intuition calling out to her. This boy was worth investing in. Six elemental cultivators were short lived, but this boy seemed different. Maybe he had inherited a talent that would solve the riddle of 6 elementals. Either way, he was quite skilled.
A sudden gust of wind combined with thunder to reveal a storm over the ring. The competitors were now trying to work together to eliminate a weak member. Blending elements was tricky at the Soul Realm but not impossible. This first round was far more exciting than anticipated.
****
Lind felt the pressure of the storm as it built and saw most of the other competitors huddling behind their defenses. He could see 3 were working together to create this storm. His Soul Eyes revealed the flow of Qi easily but Lind knew he would have to face this attack head on and eliminate a competitor or face expulsion himself.
Clouds gathered quickly above the arena as thunder rumbled through them all. The flow of Qi built up to a crescendo as 2 men and 1 woman combined wind, water, fire, and light to create a pseudo storm.
Before anyone could blink, lightning flared as rain began to fall. Lind smiled at their confidence to expel him with this. As water soaked the tiles around him, lightning struck instantly but Lind took the Qi and guided it. If they had induced natural lightning, he had no chance, but so long as it was made of Qi, it was his to command at this level.
The 3 were stunned as the lightning changed course and struck them. The woman summoned earth to disperse the strike but the 2 men were flattened instantly. The storm dispersed quickly and sunlight resumed.
Lind stood defiant as one of the men stayed down. The judge gave a ten count but he did not rise. The final 20 were chosen out of the chaos of a free for all, but many noted LInd as the stand out from the round. A low tier cultivator was rare, but his control was obvious. Even if he did not place highly in the main tournament, many powers were reach out to recruit him.